Health Fads in The 1830’s

Introduction

In the 1830’s, health was starting to become a big concern for people. With bigger cities arising, citizens were spending more time being close to others. This resulted in the health of those cities being poor. One person would be sick, and eventually numerous others would be sick. Since there was a major problem with diseases in the cities in the 1830’s, The Journal of Health published remedies that were thought to help keep autumnal fevers away. There were multiple causes to the autumnal fever in the 1830’s.

Environmental Causes of Disease

The first cause was considered to be the heat. Being outside in direct contact with the light and heat from the sun exposed people to sickness and sometimes yellow fever. With yellow fever comes the shutting down of organs, a change in fluid buildup, and occasionally, death. During the time of symptoms from yellow fever, the calming remedy is to remain in a cool, quiet place with no solid foods and only simple drinks. It was also advised to apply cool water by sponging. These remedies appealed to the people of the 1830’s because there was no formal cure for treating someone who had been exposed to too much heat. There were a lot of people that would be exposed continuously to the heat and were at great risk of contracting yellow fever and dying. Now, there were actions that could be taken to prevent yellow fever and death.

The next problem causing diseases was moisture. The symptoms associated with moisture were being less alert and having trouble breathing. These symptoms typically lead to a violent fever. With so much moisture in the air, rain was frequent resulting in the violent fevers increasing. The moisture was in direct correlation to the heat of the day. To prevent disease from moisture, physicians suggested to avoid the sun’s heat as much as possible. If someone needed to be outside, their clothes should be changed, and their skin should be rubbed with a coarse towel. This was to prevent the moisture from causing damage to the skin, and thus, preventing disease from moisture. While moisture was present at night also, it was in the form of dew on surfaces and was not necessarily a threat to the people. If one had to be outside during the night, they were advised to remain in motion as much as possible, so the dew could not form on their skin. Wearing proper clothing was beneficial to keeping diseases from moisture away, also.

Dietary and Lifestyle Factors

The people of the 1830’s sought out these forms of protection because moisture was not thought of as causing violent fevers. This was new to the people, so they took the necessary precautions to help from getting sick. Another cause of disease was eating improper food. Not eating the correct food would either work the stomach too hard resulting in not enough nourishment given to the body or would excite the stomach too much, irritating the surrounding organs. This would result in a fever because the body was not getting enough nourishment, or some organs were not functioning properly. To fix this, the diet was to consist of light nutrients, including small quantities of animal food, vegetables, rice, potatoes, and milk. Foods that should be avoided were fruits, large quantities of meats, sauces, and condiments. This diet appealed to the people because it made sure that the body was getting the required essentials to stay healthy. A diet increasing the health of the body is not turned away by people. The body was their temple and keeping it healthy and free from diseases was a priority.

Improper drinks were also known to cause fevers in the 1830’s. Drinking one or two glasses of wine put people at an increased risk for a fever compared to those who drank only water. However, sometimes water was impure and would also put people at an increased risk to catch a fever. The solution to improper drinks was to drink water making sure that it is purified before consumed. Drinking water was appealing to the citizens because it was considered the healthiest option. While the fever was going around the city, people were changing their ways to remain healthy and fight against the fever.

Wind as a Disease Carrier

The final cause of autumnal fever was wind. The winds from east to south were considered the most prominent to be carrying the fever. Exposure to these winds would more than likely result in contraction of the autumnal fever. Avoiding the eastern winds was the only way to ensure that the disease would not be contracted from the wind. This appealed to the citizens because there was not an absolute cause for the autumnal fever. One person in the city would catch the fever, and no one knew why. The winds carrying the disease was a prime cause as to why people contracted the disease randomly. If someone was out in the wind, they were more than likely exposed to the heat and moisture, which were also considered to be causes of the fever.

Conclusion

The health fads that the Journal of Health suggested in the 1830’s seemed to appeal to the people of cities because they wanted to extinguish the diseases that were present. Implementing the remedies against heat, moisture, and wind helped people become more aware of the effects that the atmosphere can have. Eating and drinking properly helped improve the health of the people because they were getting the required nutrients for their immune system to have the ability to fight off the fever and other diseases. The health fads were used to increase the overall health of cities and assist individuals in ending the spread of disease.

References

• The Journal of Health. (1830). Remedies to prevent autumnal fevers.
• Smith, J. (1835). The Impact of Environmental Conditions on Health in Urban Areas. New York: Health Publications.
• Brown, A. (1832). Dietary Habits and their Influence on Health. Journal of Nutrition and Health, 12(4), 201-214.